Jonas turning his failures into success

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1

Hi!

I’m Jonas and this is my training log. I guess I started one so I could be held accountable to something.

Training background: I used to be a sedentary gamer and grossly overweight until one day I decided to just turn a corner. I joined an MMA class a friend’s behest and enjoyed a 37 kg weight drop in a year, from 121 to 84 kilograms. Yet I was still a bit pudgy round the middle and my back started giving me trouble, leading me into strength training

I did the SS novice progression the best of my abilities (with rows instead of power cleans just to be that guy) with middling results. I ended up with (for a set of 5) 120 kg on the squat, 70 kg bench press, 47,5 kg overhead press and 135 kg deadlift. This crushed my spirits immensely as my impression was that anything below a 400 pound squat meant total failure

I moved my misinformed self on to 5/3/1 and a milk heavy diet which of course led nowhere, except for a few cool amrap gimmicks like a 100 kg squat for a set of 20, a deadlift set of 105 kg for a set of 24. But it did nothing for my top end strength. I was back to 100+ kgs bodyweight, not “strong”, not jacked, demoralized with only comfort that at least I’m not AS fat as before.

A back “injury” in MMA led me to take a prolonged break from all training, which I know now was just dumb. After a while I decided to get back wholeheartedly into getting stronger and tried to redo a bunch of linear programs but my perceived back pain seemingly always got in the way of getting anywhere. As soon as I was getting to 100 kg and above in the squat all progress just grinded to halt and I deloaded as per usual and tried to work my way up only to have to deload at an earlier spot. Stubbornly I refused to give up these low volume linear programs as I constantly told myself that I need to do LP and get to x weight on the squat and x on deadlift in order to be able to progress to anywhere else.

So I stumbled onto Barbell Medicine and onto this site, read a bunch and saw an inspirational quote from Jordan that made the lightbulb go off (paraphrased “If linear progression doesn’t work for you, why do you keep doing it?”). Such an easy conclusion I could and should have gotten to by myself.

So I’m going walk across the Bridge and see where it takes me. The weights on these exercises are going to be laughable to some and I’m not going to act like putting my weakness out there doesn’t hurt the ego. But if getting married have gotten me to finally have confidence to be able to film my fat self without being disgusted I guess this will be fine.

EDIT:

I guess I forgot basic stats

Male
Swedish
37 y/o
191 cm / 6’3"
ca 110 kg at the start of The Bridge.

1 Like
2

The Bridge
Week 1 Day 1 (Monday July 9th 2018)

So, let’s kick this off and try to peg this RPE stuff.

Squat

5 @ 6 – 80 kg. Felt maybe below 6
5 @ 7 – 85 kg. this was more like a 6
5 @ 8 – 90 kg. Felt awful, but video looked like there was zero degradation in form and bar speed. Might have to go harder.

Close Grip Bench Press

4 @ 7 – 60 kg, barely done this exercise before, this felt way easy. More like sub-6.
4 @ 8 – 65 kg, this was a 7 at worst
4 @ 9 – 70 kg, also a 7
4 @ 9 – 75 kg decided to try and adjust this upwards during the workout, this was more like a 8.

Block Pull

7 @ 6 – 70 kg easy as pie. Unlike the deadlift I can really set my back perfectly on this movement, feels great.
7 @ 7 – 75 kg could have done this all day. I’m undershooting all this badly.
7 @ 8 – 80 kg This was maybe a 7, but probably more due to total workout fatigue starting to slowly making itself known.

All in all, I completely missed the mark on the estimates. Close Grips and Block Pulls were new excercises and felt pretty great. The squats felt a lot worse than they looked. Should I adjust the things upward more radically intraworkout? Was thinking about going harder on the Block Pulls but ended up in a bit of a time crunch.

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The Bridge
Week 1 Day 3 (Wednesday July 11th 2018)

Pause Squat

4 @ 7 - 60 kg. Felt awful at first.
4 @ 8 - 65 kg. Just messed up, this ended up being sub 6
4 @ 9 - 70 kg. More like RPE 7.

Press w/ belt

5 @ 6 - 45 kg. Slightly harder than a final warmup set, so I guess I pegged this right.
5 @ 7 - 50 kg. This was probably actually a 7
5 @ 8 - 55 kg. This was was a 7.5

Barbell Rows

8 @ 6 - 50 kg. Haven’t done this in a while so jumped right in. This was probably sub-6.
8 @ 7 - 55 kg. This ended up being a 6
8 @ 8 - 60 kg. For some reason felt hard the last two reps, like 8.5 maybe.
8 @ 8 - 60 kg. Now it was easier, like a 7.

The only thing I feel I’m not completely miscalculating is the Press. Guess this might take a while.

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The Bridge
Week 1 Day 4 (Thursday July 12th 2018)

Chest-Supported Row

sets of 15, 10, 8, 8, 8. 8

Hammer Curl 3-1-3-0 Tempo

Didn’t bother counting reps

Plank

30 sec on, 30 sec off, big hold last minute.

Excercise bike

25 minutes of 90-100 rpm, adjusted intensity to keep it within that range during set.

I think the only adjustment I’ll make to this program is moving this to Tuesday. Even seems to make more sense having it there programming-wise.

5

The Bridge
Week 1 Day 5 (Friday July 13th 2018)

Deadlift

5 @ 6 - 90 kg
5 @ 7 - 95 kg
5 @ 8 - 100 kg. Issues setting my back on all of these. On block pulls I get it perfectly straight and even on pendlay rows I get it much better. Frustrating, It’s hard knowing if I could’ve done 2 or 12 more reps.

Bench Press 1ct pause

5 @ 6 - 70 kg
5 @ 7 - 72,5 kg
5 @ 8 - 75 kg. I actually pegged all of this quite well, I usually do touch-n-go.

3-0-3 Tempo Squats

8 @ 6 - 40 kg. This ended up being a 9.5, but that’s probably because the newness of the excercise caused me to (not) breathe like a moron.
8 @ 7 - 40 kg. Redid the same weight for this set minus idiocy and it was more of a 6.5
8 @ 8 - 45 kg. Ok, getting the hang of it, was like a 7 - 7.5. Really hard with such light weight.

8 @ 8 - 47.5 kg. Another 7, I think the weights on this one will increase greatly next week.

6

The Bridge
Week 2 Day 1 (Monday July 16th 2018)

Putting on new SBD knee sleves - RPE 11

Squat w/ belt

5 @ 6 - 82,5 kg
4 @ 8 - 87,5 kg. Oops. After video review, I decided it wss just a fuckup and decided to move on as planned.
5 @ 8 - 92,5 kg
5 @ 8 - 92.5 kg
5 @ 8 - 92.5 kg. All three sets generally felt heavy as shit but barbell speed looked good on video review. I blame record swedish heat.

Close-Grip Bench Press

4 @ 7 - 72 kg
4 @ 8 - 75 kg
4 @ 9 - 79 kg
4 @ 9 - 79 kg

Block Pull

7 @ 6 - 75 kg. 30+ degrees celsius heat made it even harder to learn to gauge this, decided to just do all sets and worry later.
7 @ 7 - 80 kg.
7 @ 8 - 85 kg.
8 @ 7 - 85 kg. Accidentally did one rep too many, yet felt like the easiest set.

7

The Bridge
Week 2 Day 3 Wednesday July 18th 2018)

Pause Squat
4 @ 7 - 65 kg.
4 @ 8 - 70 kg. Left elbow/tricep area started hurting here
4 @ 9 - 72,5 kg.
4 @ 9 - 72,5 kg. Exponential pain problems throughout

Press w/ belt
5 @ 6 - 51 kg. Didn’t hurt too bad at first
5 @ 7 - 54 kg. Ended up being a @9, Elbow and tricep pain was a MFer.
5 @ 8 - 50 kg. Adjusted weight down. Pain was manageable
5 @ 8 - 50 kg.
5 @ 8 - 50 kg.
5 @ 8 - 50 kg.

Barbell Rows
8 @ 6 - 55 kg.
8 @ 7 - 57,5 kg.
8 @ 8 - 60 kg.
8 @ 8 - 60 kg.
8 @ 8 - 60 kg.

8

The Bridge
Week 2 Day 4 (Thursday July 19th 2018)

Lat Pulldowns (V-grip)
60 kg for 12,8,6,6,6,6 reps.

EZ-Curl Bar
30 kg for 12,8,8,8,6,5,5

Plank
5 sets of 30 seconds, 1 minute set to finish.

LISS
25 minutes on exercise bike, 90 - 100 rpm.

9

The Bridge
Week 2 Day 5 (Friday July 20th 2018)

Deadlift w/belt
5 @ 6 - 97,5 kg. Elbow and tricep pain from wednesday made itself known, but felt fine
5 @ x - 102,5 kg. Couldn’t budge this off the floor, too painful. Decided to take a break and adjust weight down.
5 @ 8 - 90 kg. Improvised and wrapped my Gangsta Wrap around my elbow and made this manageable
5 @ 8 - 90 kg.
5 @ 8 - 90 kg.

Bench Press 1ct pause
5 @ 6 - 70 kg. This moved incredibly well.
5 @ 7 - 74 kg. Elbow was being a bitch, but it worked well enough.
5 @ 8 - 77.5. Ended up being a 9.5. Adjusted weight for following sets.

5 @ 8 - 72,5 kg
5 @ 8 - 72,5 kg
5 @ 8 - 72,5 kg.

3-0-3 Tempo Squat
8 @ 6 - 42,5 kg. Had to widen my grip to avoid pain and stumbled upon probably the best bar position I’ve ever had, with my index fingers on the ring.
8 @ 7 - 45 kg. With video review these really gives a lot of form improvement data.
8 @ 8 - 50 kg. Felt smooth. Maybe a 7.
8 @ 8 - 50 kg. I’ll probably put on 10 kg for these the next week.

10

The Bridge
Week 3 Day 1 (Monday July 23rd 2018)

Squat w/ belt
1 x 5 - 85 kg @ 6
1 x 5 - 90 kg @ 7
3 x 5 - 95 kg @ 8 (felt about right)

Close-Grip Bench Press
1 x 4 - 75 kg @ 7
1 x 4 - 80 kg @ 8
1 x 4 - 82,5 kg (this one felt like a @7, so decided to adjust upwards)
1 x 4 - 85 kg @ 8,5

Block Pull
1 x 7 - 80 kg @ 7
1 x 7 - 85 kg @ 7,5 (maybe a 7
1 x 7 - 90 kg @ 7 (adjusted upwards next set)
1 x 7 - 95 kg @ 8 (maybe lighter)

11

The Bridge
Week 3 Day 3 (Wednesday July 25th 2018)

Pause Squat
1 x 4 - 72,5 kg.
1 x 4 - 75 kg. Elbow pain from last week making itself known …
2 x 4 - 80 kg.

Press w/ belt
1 x 5 - 47,5.
1 x 5 - 50 kg
4 x 5 - 52,5 kg.

Barbell Rows
1 x 8 - 57,5 kg
1 x 8 - 60 kg. This ended up being a 10, due to elbow/tricep/whatever pain. Coupled with inability to set my back the way I wanted I adjusted weight down.
3 x 8 - 50 kg. I put bumpers underneath the bar plates to elevate it a bit. Fixed my back issues. I might just row/deadlift like this for some time.

Record level heat in Sweden couple with elbow issues made this workout a total bitch, but made all my projected work except the rows which crashed and burned. I’ll take it, I guess.

12

The Bridge
Week 3 Day 5 (Friday July 27th 2018)

Deadlift w/ belt
1 x 5 - 90 kg.
1 x 5 - 95 kg.
3 x 5 - 100 kg.

Bench Press 1ct pause
1 x 5 - 67,5 kg.
1 x 5 - 70 kg. Elbow pain made this a 9, shifted weight down
4 x 5 - 65 kg.

3-0-3 Tempo Squat
1 x 8 - 50 kg
1 x 8 - 55 kg
2 x 8 - 60 kg

13

The Bridge
Week 4

This week was just a clusterfuck with vacation and record level heat, elbow pain and intense sun burn with boils and blisters on my legs.

I eventually got all the volume in split over a number of days, but weight had to drop a bit and I didn’t care to log all of it.

14

The Bridge
Week 5 Day 1 (Monday August 6th)

Squat w/ belt
1 x 4 - 90 kg
1 x 4 - 95 kg
3 x 4 - 100 kg

3ct Paused Bench Press
1 x 4 - 65 kg
1 x 4 - 70 kg
2 x 4 - 75 kg

2ct Paused Deadlift
1 x 4 - 85 kg
1 x 4 - 90 kg
2 x 4 - 95 kg

15

The Bridge
Week 5 Day 3 (Wednesday August 8th 2018)

Pin Squat
1 x 4 - 70 kg.
1 x 4 - 75 kg.
2 x 4 - 80 kg.

Press w/ belt
1 x 4 - 50 kg.
1 x 4 - 52,5 kg. This ended up feeling way too heavy, like a 9.5
5 x 4 - 50 kg. Worked out well enough, but was a bit disappointed in my performance on the press this week.

Pendlay Rows
1 x 8 - 50 kg
1 x 8 - 55 kg
4 x 8 - 60 kg. These haven’t really felt like they’ve progressed on the intensity scale, but my form has vastly improved so these probably do more of the work they’re supposed to now.

16

The Bridge
Week 5 Day 5 (Friday August 10th 2018)

Deadlift w/ belt
1 x 4 - 100 kg
1 x 4 - 105 kg
3 x 4 - 110 kg

1ct Paused Bench Press
1 x 4 - 70 kg
1 x 4 - 75 kg
5 x 4 - 80 kg.

Squat w/o belt
1 x 6 - 65 kg
1 x 6 - 70 kg
2 x 6 - 75 kg

17

The Bridge
Week 6 Day 1 (Monday July 13th 2018)

Squat w/ belt
1 x 1 - 110 kg
3 x 4 - 100 kg

3ct Paused Bench Press
1 x 3 - 70 kg
1 x 3 - 75 kg
3 x 3 - 80 kg

2ct Paused Deadlift
1 x 4 - 90 kg
1 x 4 - 95 kg
1 x 2 - 100 kg. Fatigue really kicked in. Dilemma between retrying the same weight or going down. Went down.
1 x 4 - 95 kg.

18

The Bridge
Week 6 Day 3 (Wednesday July 15th 2018)

Pin Squat
1 x 3 - 75 kg
1 x 3 - 80 kg
3 x 3 - 85 kg

Press w/belt
1 x 1 - 60 kg
1 x 4 - 55 kg (was supposed to be 52,5 kg, misloaded)
3 x 4 - 52,5 kg.

Pendlay Rows
1 x 6 - 60 kg
1 x 6 - 65 kg
4 x 6 - 67,5 kg

19

The Bridge
Week 6 Day 4 (Thursday July 16th 2018)

LISS
Excercise bike for 25 minutes

V-handle Lat Pulldowns
60 kg for 15,8,5,5,5,5,5 reps

Plank
30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for 7 minutes.

20

The Bridge
Week 6 Day 5 (Friday August 17th 2018)

Deadlift
1 x 1 - 120 kg
3 x 4 - 107,5 kg

Bench Press (1ct pause)
1 x 8 - 87,5 kg
4 x 4 - 80 kg

Squat w/o belt
1 x 6 - 60 kg
1 x 6 - 65 kg
4 x 6 - 70 kg